New York City’s EZTV are preparing for the launch of their debut album, Calling Out. We – specifically me – jumped the gun by reviewing the album last month because I got the memo about the release date being pushed back by a month. But if you’re curious as to what I had to say about the New York City trio’s interpretation of ’80s and ’90s college radio music, you can read it here. In short, while Calling Out has that sound many of us grew up to, the lessons told by EZTV aren’t just lessons and stories for twenty-somethings but for all generations. It’s a pretty great album [Calling Out is out July 10th via Captured Tracks, and it can be pre-ordered at the label’s store, iTunes, and Amazon].

As the band prepares to launch their freshman effort, they took time out to author this week’s Artiste 5. Their chosen subject – five artists with whom they would like to collaborate. It’s a really interesting list and one that just might be our best Artiste 5.

Artiste 5 by EZTV – Five Dream Collaborations

Michael: Emitt Rhodes is one of our all-time favorite songwriters, and he really mastered the home recording process right from the get-go with his first solo album. I’ve heard that he still has his studio set up at his house, and it’s practically unchanged since the ’70s. To do a couple of songs with him would be such a trip.

Ezra: Arthur Russell is a top dream collaborator. He worked in so many different genres and with a ton of great musicians. We could jump from a “Necessaries”-style powerpop jam, to a disco track, then some ambient weirdness – life-affirming stuff.

Michael: I would love to have collaborated with Bob Rafelson! He directed HEAD and The Monkees movie in 1968. By all accounts, he was terror on the set and a megalomaniac and a copious drug taker, but I’m betting he would draw out the latent psychedelic elements of our songs and visualize them in really bonkers ways.

Shane: I’d love to have George Saunders in the role of executive producer and see if his literary brilliance transfers to an album project. His knack for achieving depth via editing down to only the essential components might make for a powerful record. Also feel like he’d be really good at track sequencing.

Ezra: It’d be righteous to get Peter Buck from R.E.M. on second guitar. Perhaps Murmur circa 1983 Peter Buck, adding some jangle in there. He’s still around. Maybe we can make this happen?

Author: Ben Yung
Just an ordinary guy with a day job who loves finding new music, attending shows, and meeting people who love music, too. And it is true, I cannot grow a beard. But it just means that despite my age, I still get carded. Follow me on Twitter - twitter.com/BenjamenYung